Opinion

During the strong winds last Thursday, traveling on Lafferty Pike, I came upon a large fallen tree in the road at the top of a hill. Several cars had stopped as two men with a chain saw, in the rain, were clearing the road. In no time all vehicles were able to pass safely, including one man who came back in the line of cars, put the chain saw in his car and left.

The 2009 Hoopin’ on the Hilltop basketball tournament was hosted by the Harrison County Boys Basketball Boosters over the weekend of Nov. 20. The success of this event is due to the support of several local businesses, including McDonald’s, Snappy Tomato Pizza, Southern States of Cynthiana and Hinkle Construction.

Operation Christmas Child was a great success this year in Harrison County. Last year our community collected just over 700 boxes for this ministry. The total for this year was 834. Wow!

We would like to say thank you to our community in supporting this ministry. Whether you gave a monetary gift, an empty shoebox a filled shoebox or items to be placed in shoeboxes or maybe all you could do was pray, it was all deeply, deeply appreciated and will change the life of a child somewhere in the world.

Good news for all you cranky pants people: According to an Australian study, thinking negatively and being sad may actually be good for you.

The study, conducted by a psychology professor at the University of New South Wales, showed that people with negative moods seem to be less gullible and better able to judge other people and their surroundings.

I am completely heartbroken about the news this past weekend of the missing elderly woman found dead in Lawrence County on Saturday, Nov. 28. She went missing Wednesday evening, Nov. 25. You can find the whole story about her at www.wsaz.com/newskentucky.

The week prior to Thanksgiving, my church participated in a week of hunger.

The plan was to eat only beans, rice and tortillas for five days to experience what a huge percent of people around the world eat all the time.

Then we were to take the money we would’ve spent on food and donate it to help feed orphans in Haiti. In addition, after a shortened worship service, we would be dismissed early to go grocery shopping to buy food items to benefit local food pantries.

Years ago, when I was still in Congress, I pulled up one day to address a public meeting in a remote and very rural part of Indiana. The sheriff, a friend of mine, met me outside the small volunteer firehouse where I was to speak. “The Ku Klux Klan is here in full regalia,” he told me. “If you’d like, I’ll keep them out of your meeting.”

We would like to once again express our sincere appreciation to the Cynthiana Elks Lodge for hosting veterans with a fish fry luncheon. It was great! The food was delicious, but the camaraderie warm and inviting. We felt appreciated and welcome.

Every year at this time as I start to pen a psalm of Thanksgiving, I’m never quite sure where to begin, or even how to approach you.

I have so little to lay at your feet. No grand deeds, no souls saved because of something I’ve said or done. Truth is, I’m feeling empty-handed and ashamed, aware of my unworthiness, yet confident of your great mercy.

With an election for state, county and city positions less than a year away, The Cynthiana Democrat welcomes letters of endorsement for candidates of the 2010 election.

The last date to publish a candidate endorsement is in the Oct. 21, 2010 issue. Those letters need to be received at the office no later than 5 p.m. Monday, Oct. 18, 2010. Letters should be no more than 300 words. All letters must be signed and include a daytime telephone number for verification purposes. Letters will not be published unless the author can be reached.

Having been a substitute teacher for 13 years, it was time to retire. My last day of work was in December 2008. The need for substitute teachers in January and February increased my desire to retire.

As you know, the Kentucky legislators required all school personnel to contribute to a pension program. I did not want to participate in a pension program, but it was mandatory. However, when I retire, I would get my “contribution.”

Leaves falling from trees onto city streets and rain do not make our streets very safe for a person who is speeding and is trying to stop. This makes for a very dangerous situation out here this time of year. Every driver needs to remember to adjust your driving habits to the road conditions because the roads are not going to adjust to your driving. Speed limits are posted for a reason and that is for people to drive safely in our community. They are not put out there for people to ignore.

We would like to once again express our sincere appreciation to the Cynthiana Elks Lodge for hosting veterans with a fish fry luncheon. It was great! The food was delicious, but the camaraderie warm and inviting. We felt appreciated and welcome.

Every year at this time as I start to pen a psalm of Thanksgiving, I’m never quite sure where to begin, or even how to approach you.

I have so little to lay at your feet. No grand deeds, no souls saved because of something I’ve said or done. Truth is, I’m feeling empty-handed and ashamed, aware of my unworthiness, yet confident of your great mercy.

I would like to begin by sharing my appreciation for the community, parents and students for their outstanding support in our efforts to be one of the best districts in the state. Also, I would like to commend our administrators and school staffs for their tremendous strides in moving our district forward in student performance. I would like to take this opportunity to share with our community the vision and mission statements for the Harrison County school district.

With an election for state, county and city positions less than a year away, The Cynthiana Democrat welcomes letters of endorsement for candidates of the 2010 election.

The last date to publish a candidate endorsement is in the Oct. 21, 2010 issue. Those letters need to be received at the office no later than 5 p.m. Monday, Oct. 18, 2010. Letters should be no more than 300 words. All letters must be signed and include a daytime telephone number for verification purposes. Letters will not be published unless the author can be reached.

You recently published a letter from me in regards to dangerous driving on US 62 (Cynthiana Road). Thank you. I wanted to inform your readers of a possible concern I became aware of afterwards - using cruise control on one’s vehicle on wet surfaces. Whenever cruise control is on, two other factors come into play.

1.) In order to maintain a constant speed, sometimes the vehicle will accelerate on its own... which could cause you to hydroplane, and thus lose control.